The bank has said it doesn’t have direct exposure to Espírito Santo International’s debt, but it has lent €823 million ($1.1 billion) to Espírito Santo Financial Group SA, which is part-owned by ESI, and has a €200 million exposure to another ESI unit.

Latest available figures from July 1 also show retail clients of the bank held €650 million in debt from Espírito Santo International and units, while institutional clients held €1.9 billion.

Another banking unit, a Switzerland-based private bank, disclosed earlier this week that Espirito Santo International had delayed interest payments to bank clients on some of its short-term debt securities.

Espírito Santo International owns 49% of the Lisbon-listed Espírito Santo Financial Group SA, which in turn owns 25% of Banco Espírito Santo.

The Espírito Santo empire traces its roots back to 1869, with the set-up of a foreign exchange business, which eventually became Banco Espírito Santo. Along the way, the lender became a shareholder in many businesses, from insurance to industrial firms.

In 1975, the bank was nationalized following the overthrow of dictatorship in Portugal. Several members of the family left the country, establishing themselves in Brazil, Switzerland and the U.K., where they began rebuilding their business activities under a holding company that is now Espírito Santo International.

In 1991, the bank was reprivatized, and the family started rebuilding its operations in Portugal, investing in banking, insurance, real estate, tourism and telecommunications.

Besides the bank, the conglomerate’s businesses include a stake in Portugal Telecom SGPS SA, the Tivoli Hotels & Resorts chain and properties in Portugal and Brazil, an insurance company in Portugal, some small energy projects in Brazil and a stake in a Portuguese hospital operator.